Multiplex stationery



Patented Apr. 24, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Meisel' PressManufacturing Company, Boston, Mass, a corporation of MassachusettsApplication July 25, 1933, Serial No. 682,083

9 Claims.

Business forms arein common use which embody sheets, usually withidentical or complementary printing thereon and either with or withoutpermanently associated carbon sheets between them, in which the sheetsare fastened together along an edge forming a book-like pad. Suchfastening is effected by adhesive, wire stitching or other means. Wirestitching has obvious disadvantages, and especially when the number. ofsheets increases, securing them together by means of adhesive hashitherto entailed the multiplication of expensive'mechanisms inmanufacture and objectionable bulkiness at the joint. My inventionprovides for the production of a multiplex form obviating suchcriticisms.

My invention may be well understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in connection. with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a. diagrammatic view illustrating a method of production;

Fig. 2 is a broken plan'view of a portion of a number of webs united ina manner illustrative of the invention, which webs may be divided toprovide a plurality of forms;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on theline 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a view of a pad with the parts thereof I separated and withpart broken away.

As an example of my invention I will here illustrate and describe a pador form consisting of five parts or shee s 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, of which,for example, sheets 1, 3 and 5 may be of paper, for instance blankforms, adapted to receive inscriptions, and 2 and 4 may be carbontransfer sheets. The pad is preferably forrried from lengths ofindefinite length, such as mill rolls such as'are utilized on printingpresses of the web type, as distinguished from sheets of which thedimensions although perhaps large are not greatly dissimilar. In Fig. 1I have shown five su'ch webs with the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4"and 5, thesebeing the same numerals as applied to the sheets of the pad as it willbe understood that the sheets- 1 are sections of the web 1 and so on,andI have there illustrated them as drawn from rolls shown at theleft-hand side of Fig. 1. It will be understood that the several websmay be of the same stock or dissimilar in quality, color, etc., as maybe desired. Herein the webs 1, 3 and 5 are shown as drawn forwardthrough a printing mechanism 6. The webs are fed forward longitudinallyand brought together as illustrated at the right of thefigure insuperposed position with atleast one of their edges in alignment.

edges thereof with openings. preferably in the The manner in which thewebs are connected will be apparent from Figs. 2 to 4. The webs 2, 3, 4and 5 may be provided along the aligning form of holes 20, 30, 40 and 50respectively. I have herein illustrated in Fig. 1 these holes as beingmade incident to the process of printing and aligning the webs, thisbeing indicated by the diagrammatic showing of punching mechanisms 10.These punching mechanisms are 6 diagrammed as reciprocating punchescooperating with dies solely on account of the graphic nature of such adiagram.

The openings in the several webs are so located that marginal portionsthereof are successively 7 displaced, preferably in the direction of thelength of the web, so that the superposed webs as a whole present anopening extending through ,the

'20 as beinground, while the holes 30, 40 and 50 are successively moreand more oblate.

To secure the webs together I may utilize a flat member of thinsheet-like character adhesively secured to the face of the web 5 at thelocation of the opening 50, to the faces of the webs 4, 3 and 2 whereexposed at the stepped margin of the opening, and through the opening tothe end web 1 which presents an unbroken face at the bottom of .theopening. Herein I utilize a single member extending from hole to holeand in the form of a narrow tape 15 which, in the process of manufactureshown, may conveniently be of indefinite length like the webs and whichmay be drawn from a supply roll as seen at the right of Fig. 1 andpressed on to the assembled webs parallel to the aligning edges thereofas by means of the pressure rollers 16.

The tape is preferably of the type having a paper body provided with apressure-sensitive adhesive coating such as a rubber and resin compoundadapted to adhere to the several webs by mere pressure without the useof liquid and without requiring drying or heating. The tape may beprovided on its opposite face with a finishing coating which not onlypermits the tape to be rolled up and readily to be withdrawn from 1 5the roll for uniting to the webs, but also presents a smooth andnon-tacky surface at the back of the finished form. At the front of theform the end sheet 1 covers the sticky surface. Smea'ring or subsequentcockling which might arise from 1 the use of drying adhesive are avoidedwhen a pressure sensitive adhesive is used.

The united webs may be severed transversely to form pads for use. In apad of the type shown the several sheets may be perforated adjacent theheads thereof as indicated by the line 17, and in normal use after beinginscribed the connected parts may be torn off along this line toseparate the sheets. It will be understood that I have shown a pad offive sheets with but two openings along its edge to simplify the drawingand that the number of sheets and the number of openings are subject toconsiderable variation.

It will be seen that the method of-manufacture is very simple and welladapted to continuous production, particularly in connection withmachines of the rotary type. curely held together.

The parts are se- In the form shown slight inaccuracies in register ofthe parts will not shown in Fig. 3 without buckling or drawing since itmay be drawn in as required although' a slightly greater length isrequired for each individual pad than the width of the pad and no errorwill be gradually accumulated to cause difiiculties.

I have used the word form to refer to the finished product and usuallysome or all of the sheets such as 1, 3 and 5 in the present instancewould be printed on, usually to constitute a blank iorm which would befilled out on the typewriter or otherwise. It will be understood,however, that I use the word form in the claims merely as a convenientword to designate a booklet of the type under consideration and not byway of limit-Jim to the printed matter, if any, appearing upon thesheets.

I am aware that the invention may be embodied in other specific formswithout departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and Itherefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in all respectsas illustrative and not restrictive; reference being had to the appendedclaims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope ofthe invention.

. I claim:

1. A multiplex form comprising a number of superposed sheets havingsimilrrly located but progressively enlarged openings therein, thuscollectively presenting an opening .vith a stepped margin and a member,adhesively secured to the several sheets along said margin.

2. A mvktiplex form comprising a number of superposed sheets havingsubstantially similarly located openings having marginal portionsprogressively displaced from sheet to sheet, thus collectivelypresenting an opening with a stepped margin and a member adhesivelysecured to the several sheets along said margin.

3. A multiplex form comprising a number'of superposed sheets havingsubstantially similarly located openings having marginal portionsprogressively displaced from sheet to sheet, thus collectivelypresenting an opening with a stepped margin and a securing memberadhesively seing and extending into the same and adhesively secured tothe exposed stepped surface of the other sheets at said margin.

4. A multiplex form comprising an end sheet, other, sheets superposedthereon and having substantially similarly located openingshavingmarginal portions progressively displaced from sheet to sheet,thus collectively presenting anopening with a stepped margin, saidopening opposing an unbroken portion of the end sheet and a memberadhesively secured through said opening to the end sheet and to saidmargin.

5. A multiplex form comprising an end sheet, other sheets superposedthereon and having substantially similarly located openings havingmarginal portions progressively displaced from sheet to sheet, thuscollectively presenting an opening with astepped margin, said openingopposing an unbroken portion of the end sheet and a member of restrictedarea adhesively secured through said opening to the end sheet and tosaid margin.

6. A multiplex form comprising an end sheet, other sheets superposedthereon and having substantially similarly located openings havingmarginal portions progressively displaced from sheet to sheet, thuscollectively presenting an'opening with a stepped margin, said openingopposing an unbroken portion of the end sheet and a member having apressure adhesive coating overlying said opening and pressed thereintointo adherence with the margin thereof and with the end sheet.

7. A multiplex form comprising a pluralityof superposed sheets alignedalong one edge and having along said edge substantially similarlylocated openings having marginal portions progressively displacedparallel to said edge from sheet to sheet thus collectively to presentan opening having a stepped margin, and an adhesive 3.

comprising an end sheet and a plurality of other I sheets and havingalong said edge substantially similarly located openings having marginalportions progressively displaced parallel to said edge from sheet tosheet thus collectively to present an opening having a stepped margin,and an adlength aligned along one of their longitudinal edges andcomprising an end web and other webs having along said edgesubstantially similarly locatedopenings having marginal portionsprogressively displaced parallel to said edge from web to webcollectively to present an opening having I a stepped margin, whichopening opposes an unbroken portion of the end web, an adhesive tapeextending along said webs and secured to the web opposite said end webto the surfaces of other webs exposed at margins of the openings andthrough the openings to said end web, the assemblage being adapted fortransverse division into pads.

CHARLES A. MEISEL.

